Ref Category SEN: Sensitivity
See also PRIC: Symptoms & Results of Pride, REL: Relations with People (General); Cooperation
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SEN ML#33:22 THAT'S ONE THING YOU GOTTA HAVE, BUD: YOU GOTTA HAVE SOME FAITH & BELIEF IN GOD--OR YOU'RE SUNK! FOR WITHOUT HIM YOU CAN DO NOTHING! If you don't hold onto the Lord, you're lost! Anything & everybody & everything can get you down! In fact, almost nothing! The slightest little provocation, the slightest little exaggeration, the slightest little insinuation, the slightest little remark--& you've had it! Your skin is so thin you can't take it--the veneer so thin it's easily scratched--that nice Christian polish you have turns out to be nothing but on the surface--& all it takes is one little scratch & you can see the horrible sight underneath! Or your spiritual balance is so delicate that nobody dares touch you or it will tip you off balance one way or the other & you'll crash!
SEN ML#33:23 SOME PEOPLE ARE SO DAMN DELICATE THEY CAN'T STAND ANYTHING; THEY CAN'T TAKE THE SLIGHTEST PRESSURE--they collapse because they're not holding onto the Lord; they're not standing on the Word; they're not believing in His promises! They're depending on some damn self-righteousness of their own, some depraved greatness they think they have! and let me tell you, that kind of sanctimonious hypocrisy can't stand the shock treatments of the Devil! It shatters very easily! Then everybody's given a terrible look at all the horror within, because you didn't really hold onto the Lord & keep your eyes on Heaven!
SEN ML#49:25 SELF-PITY IS PRIDE; HURT FEELINGS ARE DAMNABLE STINKING SELF, & at the root of every doubt there is sin, the heinous, diabolical sin of rebellion against God's Will!
SEN ML#58:5 IF THERE'S ANYTHING ANY SOLDIER HAS GOT TO LEARN TO DO, AS YOU OUGHTTA KNOW, IT'S TO BE ABLE TO TAKE A CUSSIN' OUT FOR HIS MISTAKES by his commanding officer, & say, "Yes, Sir; thank you, Sir; & what next, Sir?"--even if it hurts! This is a war, & we have little time for sensitivity, & nursing our wounds, or hurt feelings! We must fight on!
SEN ML#395:9 I DON'T THINK AQUARIANS ARE NATURALLY VERY JEALOUS. I just think they're very sensitive.
SEN ML#399:54 WHEN EVERYTHING ELSE HAS GONE TO POT & EVERYTHING ELSE LIES IN RUINS, JESUS WILL STILL BE WITH YOU. When the World has nothing left you'll still have Jesus, praise God?
SEN ML#606:13 Even is we're sensitive, Lord, it's a sign of pride, if we're too sensitive & we snap back or we feel hurt. Sensitiveness is born of pride & pride is of the Enemy, Lord, & we ask Thee to deliver us from this machination of the Evil One. This is such a temptation to leadership, Lord.
SEN ML#1139:54,55: GOD'S LOVE IS SO WONDERFUL! Like the old song: "Oh He heals every heartache, He hears every cry, this wonderful Saviour of mine! He helps me in trouble, He heeds when I cry, this wonderful Saviour of mine!"
SEN ML#1339:3 I THINK IT'S PARTLY PRIDE & IT'S PARTLY FEAR. (Maria: But fear is born of pride.) Well, partly, yes. Usually when I say that, I'm talking about sensitiveness. There are other kinds of fear which are not pride, but this is the kind of fear that is born of pride, worrying about what people will think.
SEN ML#1376:114 You've heard about people who are temperamental?--90% temper & 10% mental!
SEN ML#1436:89 People with those spiritual proclivities or tendencies--what I might almost call weaknesses or susceptibilities--are susceptible to spiritual influences, & if they don't stay mighty close to God & His Holy Spirit, they're very susceptible to evil spirits.
SEN ML#1436:104 SO IF SOMEBODY IN THAT HOUSE IS STILL AN ANTENNA FOR THE DEVIL & is still picking up those powerful signals, they can give those signals off in such strong vibes as to affect other people, particularly if they are sensitive to spiritual influence. An artist must be very sensitive, & if he's not in the right spirit he's going to get the wrong signals & be a receiver of those vibes that she (Genesis) is broadcasting--or that that devil that's hovering around her is broadcasting!
SEN ML#1650:3 I'M SORRY, BUT WE'RE A REVOLUTION! WE'RE AT WAR!--We can't just go around worrying about people's personal feelings all the time! They have to do what's best for the command, what's best for the country, what's best for the nation, the Kingdom, what's best for our goals & the war, the battles! We have to change tactics whether people like it or not. People get settled down in a groove, in a rut & let the roots grow down sometimes too long, & then the Lord has to uproot'm, tear'm loose & really break'm & shake'm up!
SEN ML#1793:5 With sensitive people you've got to be more gentle. I try to treat them with a lot less bluntness & a lot more softly than I do some others, because people are different & need to be treated differently. Their feelings are much more easily hurt & they're much more sensitive, which possibly comes from some of their past experiences, or also because of their sun sign.
SEN ML#1793:6 He wants Pearl to learn to be more considerate & Hope to learn not to be so sensitive. Pearl doesn't seem to be very sensitive herself, & she needs to learn about being more considerate of others' feelings.
SEN ML#1797:9 (MARIA: I THINK THERE IS A DEFINITE DIFFERENCE IN PERSONALITIES, & no matter how spiritually strong they may be, some people are a lot more sensitive than others & things hit them a lot harder. Everybody has different battles, & discouragement may be one of theirs & it's one of their thorns in the flesh that they have to try to overcome.)
SEN ML#1797:10 (MARIA: ON THE OTHER HAND, SENSITIVITY TO PROBLEMS CAN ALSO BE A STRENGTH. Dad is quite sensitive & things can bother him a lot, but because they do bother him, he does something to change them! Instead of just going under, he does something about it!--Even with the smallest things, they affect him so much, so he does something to make sure things are changed for the better!)
SEN ML#1797:10 (MARIA: I AM NOT SO SENSITIVE & THINGS DON'T BOTHER ME SO MUCH, so I have a tendency to just let things go--& that I have to fight against & get a constant victory in, I might add.)
SEN ML#1933:34 You know you're making progress because you're passing things. Maybe in your spiritual life the same is true, when you start letting it pass. You don't worry about it, you don't hold it against somebody for some idle remark or something foolish that they did, something they said, you don't get hypersensitive & all upset about it & hold it against them, you just let it pass, you forgive them. You're passing things.
SEN ML#1945:39 GET YOUR MIND OFF YOURSELF! FORGET YOURSELF! Forget your attitude! Get your mind on others! Get your mind on Jesus! Think about the Lord & forget yourself & go to work for Jesus & that's the best thing in the World for that kind of problem, good old-fashioned work-therapy, love-therapy, love for others, love for the Lord! Sacrifice yourself on the altar, forget yourself, lose yourself! Forget your God-damned selfish personal proud feelings!
SEN ML#2039:60 YOU ALL NEED ENCOURAGEMENT. So in your criticisms & your suggestions try not to be discouraging. I know I'm very sensitive & it doesn't take much to discourage me if somebody gets critical & puts me down & belittles something. It's even tough to find out I'm wrong, as dear Apollos knows so well lately. But in the meantime, if you have a criticism, always sugar-coat it with a little praise & encouragement & then point out where you think the suggestion or alteration or correction needs to be made.
SEN ML#2046:9 I HOPE YOU DON'T FEEL BAD IF I ADD A LITTLE SOMETHING HERE OR THERE, PLEASE DON'T FEEL OFFENDED. I'm glad you're not sensitive!--At least not too sensitive. We're all a little sensitive.
SEN ML#2086:40 My mother was very sensitive & easily hurt. She was such a loving, compassionate, considerate soul herself that she couldn't stand to have other people hurt her. She was very sensitive, & we say that's pride, but on the other hand, some people are sensitive because they're just very tender-hearted & easily hurt. PTL!
SEN ML#2236:28 (MARIA: GRANDPA LOVES YOU SO MUCH, HONEY, IN THE NIGHT HE WAS SO SAD THAT HE MADE YOU CRY THE OTHER DAY IN OUR CLASS. He was feeling real bad about that.) I didn't mean to! But you're awfully sensitive, you get hurt pretty easy. And you know what that is? (David: Pride.)--Pride, right! And pride comes from where? (David: Sin.) From sin? It is a sin. But it originated with whom? (David: The Devil.)--Right! It caused his fall out of Heaven, right?
SEN ML#2236:29 MY MOTHER WAS EXTREMELY SENSITIVE, & THAT WAS ONE OF HER PROBLEMS, HER PRIDE! She'd get sensitive & offended by little things, like when my dad would say something that he didn't even intend to offend her.--Such as I did the other day in class. I didn't intend to offend you, I was just trying to get some answers! So my Dad would say to her, "Sensitiveness is born of pride, & pride is of the Devil, & the Devil is from Hell!" So he was telling her that her sensitiveness was from Hell!
SEN ML#2236:31 NOW REBUKE THE ENEMY IN JESUS' NAME! (David: I rebuke you, Satan, in Jesus' name!) I rebuke your pride, Satan! (David: I rebuke your pride, Satan!) I rebuke this sensitive spirit that tries to make me offended at little things! (David: I rebuke this sensitive spirit that tries to make me offended at little things!)--In Jesus' name! (David: Amen!)
SEN ML#2236:32 DELIVER ME FROM THIS PRIDE, LORD! (David: Deliver me from this pride, Lord.) Deliver me from this sensitive spirit that makes me offended so easily. (David: Deliver me from this sensitive spirit that makes me offended so easily.) Help me, Lord, to resist this pride. (David: Help me, Lord, to resist this pride.) To be humble, accept rebuke & not get offended & hurt. (David: To be humble, accept rebuke & not get offended & hurt.) Because that's pride, Lord. (David: Because that's pride, Lord.) And I don't want to be proud, Lord. (David: And I don't want to be proud, Lord.) Help me not to be proud, Lord. (David: Help me not to be proud, Lord.) Help me to be humble, willing to take rebuke. (David: Help me to be humble.)--In Jesus' name! We resist you, Satan, in the name of Jesus! Praise You Lord! Hallelujah! Thank You Jesus! Thank the Lord! Praise the Lord! (David: Thank You Lord! Thank You Jesus!)--In Jesus' name, amen!
SEN ML#2620:79 As far as sensitivity goes: If you really love the Lord & you really love the sheep & you really love your job & you really want to do the Lord's Will, you're going to just say to others, 'Sock it to me anyway! Don't hold back! I'm going to grit my teeth, smile, & bear it!'--And then just learn to 'take it' for the Lord & His Work's sake! And as you do, it will become easier! And you will get more used to it & you will have less problem with sensitivity!
SEN ML#2620:80 If I ever feel sensitive because of something someone else says, I immediately fight it, resist it, & say to myself, 'I can't let myself feel that way! I won't let myself feel that way! It's not the Lord! It's ridiculous to feel that way! It's selfish to feel that way! If I feel that way & show it, I won't be able to benefit any longer from their candidness & openness because they'll be afraid of hurting me!' So I resist it with all I'm worth & refuse to be sensitive!--Because I know that it's just pride!
SEN ML#2621:10 Abi & Dust, you have to keep in mind that you must not fail Juan by withholding counsel or instruction from him that he desperately wants, just because you think it will hurt him or he might be sensitive. He has shown repeatedly that regardless of his sensitivity, he wants the help. So if you notice something, you must be faithful to share it with him. I think he's certainly proven that he can "take it," & thereby has earned the right to "have it." And I'm sure the more he continues to fight his sensitivity, the less sensitive he will be & the easier it will become for him to take it, & also for you to give it.
SEN ML#2621:12 The other day Peter was asking me, "Mama, please tell me if I ever hurt your feelings, because I want to know so I won't do it again." I said, "No, I don't want you to know when you hurt my feelings, because I want to learn to 'take it' & I want to get toughened up! I don't want you to ever stop hurting me in that sense because how will I learn how to take things if everybody always says nothing but sweet & soothing things to me, & never any correction or contrary opinions that make me have to fight sensitivity?"
SEN ML#2621:13 I think, Juan, you probably feel the same. You don't want to tell people when they hurt your feelings because you don't want them to stop letting you "have it," because you know it's good for you & you're growing & learning from it. Of course, I want to make it clear here that Peter hardly ever does hurt my feelings; I couldn't even think of an example at the time. But I assured him that even if I could, I wouldn't want to tell him unless it was something that he really needed to learn to do or say differently. But if it was merely because of my sensitivity, there would be no good reason to tell him that my feelings were hurt, & in fact, there would be a good reason not to!
SEN ML#2621:35-39 [Mama shares with Abi about: HONESTLY EXPLAINING THINGS TO OTHERS, EVEN WHEN IT'S DIFFICULT, in the case of Juan using her ideas as his own.]
SEN MOM#55:4 DAVID'S BEEN STAMMERING A LITTLE ONCE IN AWHILE WHEN HE GETS EXCITED IN TELLING US ABOUT HIS DAY'S ACTIVITIES, & Techi hadn't seemed to realise that pointing it out or even imitating it would bother him either. I guess since they love each other & they're so close, & their intentions are not malicious, it never occurs to them that the other one would have a trial over it or feel hurt or embarrassed.
SEN MOM#55:14 YOU CAN UNDERSTAND HOW THE CHILDREN HAVE A PROBLEM ALONG THAT LINE IF EVEN SOME ADULTS ARE SO THOUGHTLESS, evidenced, for example, by the fact that some even make their teens the brunt of jokes. How can we expect the children to learn & to behave themselves & do what they should if the adults even have a problem of teasing or making fun of & embarrassing others? Just one little comment, just one thoughtless remark can loom very large to a child that's already embarrassed about something. Every little remark can add up & do damage, & grow way out of proportion to the significance of the remark itself. But that's how the sensitive children take these remarks, as they already often feel bad & inferior, so they build it up into something really big when it wasn't even meant that way sometimes. You can even be saying something about somebody else & yet another party you're not even talking about can take it very personally & be hurt by it, imagining that you must be talking about them.
SEN MOM#55:17 I BET DURING THE COURSE OF A DAY, THE CHILDREN ARE HURT A LOT MORE BY WHAT THEY SAY TO EACH OTHER THAN ANYTHING ELSE. Children don't expect other children to go out of their way to do loving deeds for them so much, but the things that really hurt them are each other's careless unkind words.
SEN MOM#59:9 (SARA: THIS CAME UP IN THE TEEN QUESTIONNAIRES TIME & TIME AGAIN, & usually in answer to the question, "What was the most embarrassing experience in your life?" or "What are your biggest battles?"--Many teens mentioned how they've said something in a group & the adults have laughed at them, when the teens themselves didn't consider it the least bit funny at all.) It's very easy to laugh, as so many things they say are really funny, but adults should be hesitant to laugh, even at something funny, unless they feel the child would appreciate having made them laugh. But adults should never deliberately make jokes about the children & at their expense, especially in front of others, nor should they laugh at them in a condescending, patronising way. We may need to help the teens learn to have a better sense of humour & not be so sensitive & "have a good laugh at themselves" sometimes, & not mind if adults sometimes laugh with them, teaching them that they're helping others to have an entertaining moment & cheering everybody up with a good laugh. But we're talking here about adults laughing at children & teens in a belittling & ridiculing way, not the teens laughing at themselves & others with them all together appreciating the good humour of the moment.
SEN PTR#22:4 IF NOBODY CORRECTS YOU, PRETTY SOON YOU'RE SO USED TO JUST DOING YOUR OWN THING that you will no longer do God's thing. You'll no longer do what Jesus wants you to do! You'll begin to think, "Nobody ever corrects me, so I must be right all the time! Nobody ever tells me I'm wrong, so I must be right!"--And you turn into a rotten apple!
SEN PTR#32:1 WE'RE ALL SENSITIVE IN SOME AREAS, WE ALL HAVE OUR SENSITIVE FEELINGS AT SOME TIME, BUT SOME PEOPLE HAVE IT A LOT MORE THAN OTHERS!--And if you do, it's extremely dangerous. "Those who won't be counselled can't be helped." It's like those who are so sensitive that you can't say anything to them or they're just going to fall to pieces, you can't help them! What can you do? You can't tell them anything!
SEN PTR#32:2 WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU START BUILDING UP A WALL AROUND YOU & NOBODY CAN TELL YOU ANYTHING BECAUSE THEY'RE AFRAID YOU'RE GOING TO FALL TO PIECES IF THEY DO? So what happens then is nobody tells you anything! If you insulate yourself & react so defensively, nobody's going to tell you anything! So what happens then?--You start getting off the beam & start doing things wrong & you just start going your own way, & nobody tells you, & nobody helps you, because you've put yourself in a position where you've made everybody afraid to tell you anything!
SEN PTR#32:4 YOU CAN'T TELL SENSITIVE PEOPLE ANYTHING, THEREFORE YOU CAN'T TELL THEM WHEN THEY'RE WRONG or even insinuate or even hint that maybe something's wrong, & pretty soon they don't grow or they don't change, they don't get corrected & they don't progress, so pretty soon they're left behind & they're not any good! Nobody can say anything to them because they're going to cry or they're going to get so upset that it's going to crush them, so you just don't!
SEN PTR#32:5 LET'S SAY YOU HAVE TWO PEOPLE YOU CAN GO TO, TO TALK & COUNSEL WITH.--ONE OF THEM TAKES EVERYTHING IN STRIDE & IS VERY EASY TO TALK WITH, & THE OTHER ONE ISN'T. So when you need to discuss or counsel an issue with one of them, who are you going to go to?--The one you can easily pour out to! But this has been a problem in your Home, that people feel they can't approach you with their suggestions & questions or changes because you're so sensitive you take everything too personally! But you can consciously get over it if you ask the Lord to help you! You can decide not to be a certain way. A lot of it has to do with your own will, your own desire, your want to change, but then you have to decide that you want to change, because if you don't, you won't! It's real simple!
SEN PTR#32:6 DAD SAYS SENSITIVITY IS PRIDE, PEOPLE ARE TOO PROUD TO TAKE IT, THEY'RE TOO PROUD TO THINK THAT THEY COULD BE WRONG, that they could make a mistake. Well, we all make mistakes & we all need correction!
SEN PTR#32:7 WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO TAKE CORRECTION FROM EACH OTHER, & if you're not willing to, then it's going to do you an awful lot of harm! You'll start living in a dream world because nobody will ever tell you if something's wrong, because they know that if they do, you're going to fall to pieces!--Therefore they don't! It's a bad state for everybody because then nobody can be honest with you. They can't change anything, they can't correct anything, they can't even hint at it. Sensitivity is a real device of the Enemy!
SEN PTR#32:8 WE'VE GOT TO WANT CORRECTION, WE'VE GOT TO WANT TO CHANGE, WE'VE GOT TO WANT TO FIND OUT IF WE'RE DOING SOMETHING WRONG! But if you're too sensitive, you can't get the correction & lessons that you need.
SEN PTR#32:9 WHEN YOU GET A PHONE MESSAGE FROM DAD ABOUT YOUR UNIT'S PRODUCTION, HE'S NOT EVER TALKING TO YOU ABOUT PERSONAL THINGS, your personal walk with the Lord & your personal life, but he talks to you about your work. So it seems like you've learned to accept correction under Dad, but you are not accepting it so willingly on any other basis from those around you, which is something you really need to work on.--Because it affects others too, it doesn't just affect you.
SEN PTR#32:12 A NAGGING WIFE CAN CREATE A HUSBAND WHO HATES HER BECAUSE OF HER NAGGING. It's the same with sensitivity, if you won't let people tell you things & you go to pieces when they do, & the slightest hint that something's wrong just causes you to worry yourself sick & go to pieces, you're putting yourself in a position where no one's going to tell you anything & you're creating a certain reaction in others that's not necessarily good! So it hurts both parties!
SEN PTR#32:13 SENSITIVE PEOPLE CAN ALSO TAKE EVERY LITTLE COMMENT SO PERSONALLY, they believe total fabrications which are completely untrue! They can get on a big bummer about a little Home announcement that's not even directed at them, & worry that "people don't like me" & "this means that & that means this!"--Which is all just crazy! But because you dwell on it & imagine & worry so much, to you it is true, the Enemy just lies to you about it! Pretty soon you have a tea party with the Devil over it & you're all down & discouraged & in the dumps & you think everybody's upset at you! So that's where sensitivity leads to!
SEN PTR#32:14 SOMETIMES PEOPLE THINK SENSITIVITY IS A GOOD THING. They say, "Well, we're supposed to be sensitive to the Spirit." And that is a good thing, to be sensitive to the Spirit, but that's a different kind ofsensitivity! What this kind of sensitivity amounts to is pride, because you don't want to be corrected. "Oh, don't tell me this because it's too much for me, & if you tell me I'm going to go to pieces, so you'd better not tell me!" What you're really saying is, "Please don't correct me or ever insinuate I'm wrong because I can't take it!" And then no one corrects you & then you don't change & then you just stagnate & die on the vine! You become fruitless!
SEN PTR#32:17 WE AS LEADERS TELL PEOPLE THINGS ALL THE TIME, EVERY DAY, ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER AFTER ANOTHER! Leaders & shepherds have to do it all the time, or at least we should! Do you ever correct anybody? Sometimes you do, that's your job as a leader. Well, you don't expect them to totally go to pieces if you say one little thing to them, do you? If they did, you'd be upset at them! Well, if we as leaders can dole it out to everybody else, then we should sure as shootin' be able to take it, too, especially from one another in honesty & openness & frankness & appreciation, because everybody needs to be corrected if they're wrong!
SEN PTR#32:18 WE DON'T CORRECT PEOPLE BECAUSE WE WANT TO HURT'M, we don't do it to be malicious. If someone makes a big mistake on a photocopying project, you don't get on their case & ask them why they did it & correct them just because you like to or because you're trying to be mean to them. You do it because you want to help, you want to train them, you want them to understand their mistakes & to do a better job. Isn't that why we correct people?
SEN PTR#32:19 SO WHY DOES IT WORK ANY DIFFERENTLY ON A LEADERSHIP LEVEL BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE OR BETWEEN ALL OF US? I've told everyone in our house, "If I come to the kitchen or the kids' room & I do something wrong, you can tell me! I'm not going to fall to pieces, I'm not going to bite your head off & say, 'Who do you think you are to tell me something, buddy!'" I do a lot of things wrong! But I want to know & I want to do'm right, so I ask people. I said, "If you don't feel like you should say it, then write me a note, because I want to know!" And that's how we should all be, we should want to know when we're wrong or when we're doing things wrong or if we're in a hurried spirit or whatever, because it's not the right thing, & if we're that way we should be corrected.
SEN PTR#32:20 THE END RESULT OF THIS SENSITIVITY IS THAT YOU LOSE YOUR USEFULNESS BECAUSE NOBODY CAN TELL YOU ANYTHING! Don't we all want to grow? Don't we all want to be closer to the Lord? Don't we want to do things the right way? Well, if we want to, then we should be willing enough to take it & to accept it when we're not.--And not only accept it from your leadership, but be willing to listen & take suggestions from those you work with, & even those under you. I'm not saying everybody should go around rebuking all their elders, but especially at a leadership or equals level we should receive better from one another. No one should be so high & mighty that they can't take a little correction one from another!
SEN PTR#32:21 YOU'RE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO DECIDE THAT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE THAT WAY, that you're not going to let those things bother you, & you have to start being willing to face the fact that you do have things wrong with you, you do make mistakes! All of us do & we can't be so unwilling to have our mistakes exposed & corrected! People know your faults & your failures & your areas of weakness anyway, so it doesn't do any good to hide it & to not want to have correction in them! You've just got to face the facts & face the situation, & just go on the attack against them!
SEN PTR#32:22 PART OF THE PROBLEM IS THAT EVERYBODY WAS SO SENSITIVE THAT NOBODY COULD SAY ANYTHING TO EACH OTHER! They were afraid you were going to get upset, & you were afraid they were going to get upset! So nobody does anything because everybody's afraid everybody else is going to get upset! So what happens?--Nothing gets done!--Or none of the problems get solved, or none of the problems between you get solved because all you leaders are afraid to say anything to each other! That's a ridiculous situation when you look at it! When you step out & step back & look at the situation logically in the light of the truth, it's insane! It's absolutely ridiculous!
SEN PTR#32:23 IF WE WERE SO SENSITIVE THAT EVERY TIME OUR SHEPHERDS JUST LOOKED AT US WE ALL FELL TO PIECES, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN? We might all be a bunch of delinquent children, because we'd certainly be discouraging correction because of our reaction to it.
SEN PTR#32:24 SENSITIVITY IS REALLY THE DEVIL'S DEVICE! It's a trick of the Enemy to lock yourself into being so sensitive that you can't accept that anything's wrong with you or that you need to change or that you did something wrong. It's really pride, that's what it comes down to! It's something that you really need to pray about & get over! We're all sort of sensitive, but we all need to see that we don't have to be, we don't need to be & we shouldn't be!
SEN PTR#32:25 THE MAJOR PROBLEM IS THAT IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE LIKE THAT, OTHERS SEE IT & THEY IN TURN THINK THAT THEY CAN BE SENSITIVE TOO! And then you've got this problem that nobody can say anything to anybody because everybody's so sensitive. Then before you can say anything to somebody, you've got to pad everything. Either you don't say it all, or you've got to say it in such a soft, roundabout way that it's a major big production to figure out how to say it! And then you don't know what the result's going to be, if the person's going to explode or go into the depths of despair or what! So then you've got a situation where nobody can talk to anybody, nobody can say anything & it's just the opposite of the way it's supposed to be!
SEN PTR#32:26 IT'S LIKE THAT VERSE, "AM I NOW BECOME YOUR ENEMY BECAUSE I TELL YOU THE TRUTH?" (Gal.4:16) Shouldn't we be able to tell each other the truth? Shouldn't we be able to point out problems & mistakes to each other? Shouldn't we be able to correct each other?--Yes! We should not only be able to, we should want it, & we should try to be open enough to accept those things. And you can be! It just depends on your attitude or frame of mind.
SEN PTR#32:27 SOME PEOPLE ARE SENSITIVE BECAUSE THEY LIKE IT! "Oh, I like having this special little attention & sympathy that's generated!" But it's a waste of time & it also hurts other people. It's sort of a vicious cycle. For example, if I'm talking to you & you make an indication that something I said hurt you, then I feel like, "What's the matter? Did I do something to hurt her? I'm sorry!" Then you say, "Oh no no no, it's nothing, I don't want to tell you." And by the time we're finished talking I feel really bad that I hurt your feelings, when I honestly don't mean to. I'm sure sometimes I have hurt you, but I didn't mean to. But then I've worried about you & I felt like I've had to check later how you're doing.--And it shouldn't be like that!
SEN PTR#32:28 IT'S A WAR, WE'RE AN ARMY! THERE'S NO TIME OR ROOM FOR THIS SORT OF THING! We have to be able to say, "Yes, Sir! Thank you, Sir! Amen, Sir!" There's no place for sensitivity because it takes so much time, something we don't have much of! It's just not spiritually healthy to be that way, because you don't grow!--Because nobody tells you anything! Or if they do tell you, you're so defensive & withdrawn & padded with sensitivity that you don't even get the point!
SEN PTR#32:31 (FAM: I'M OFTEN BRANDED AS BEING SENSITIVE NOW EVEN MANY TIMES WHEN I'M NOT!) Well, you're branded that way because you are that way so often! Even though this last time you weren't, we expect that you will be, because you have been so often in the past! If you'd never been that way or you seldom reacted that way, then of course nobody would even think that! But because you have had that problem & you have been that way, & you are that way so often, therefore, of course we think it! Why wouldn't we?
SEN PTR#32:32 I'LL TELL YOU ONE THING, THE REASON SOME OF THESE RETURNING PRODIGALS HAVE BECOME GOOD UPSTANDING MEMBERS IS BECAUSE WE'VE HAD THE RULES ENFORCED! The reason they've come from being backslidden, drugged-out musicians & artists to very good hard workers, is because their shepherds transcended all their sensitivity & they just enforced the rules, loved them & didn't let those people get away with things! Maybe they're still a little sensitive, but they've toed the line & they do good!
SEN PTR#32:33 IT'S TIME TO START GETTING PEOPLE OVER THE HUMP & NOT JUST ACCEPTING EACH OTHERS' PROBLEMS. We can't just say, "Well, that's just the way she is." The reason people are sensitive is because we didn't do anything about it! But they don't have to be that way & we shouldn't accept it!
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